YDSA Constitution

Program of the Young Democratic Socialists of America

In the United States of America, we live in a country governed by a small elite of bosses and billionaires—the capitalist class—who dominate nearly every aspect of public life. They control our political institutions, most major media outlets, the education system, and every level of government, from local city halls to the U.S. Senate. The capitalists use their power to extract wealth from the vast majority of people: the working class. This capitalist system can only be overthrown by workers organizing collectively to take political power from the rich and build a new society with a new democratic constitution that puts the working class majority in control. 

At every turn, the capitalist class exploits young people who work and study long hours to escape poverty, suffocating us with high tuition and rent, student debt, and unacceptable wages. Our schools are underfunded and used as recruitment pipelines for the military-industrial complex. With our school systems being hollowed out for profit and millions going without education at all, we are facing a mass literacy and education crisis. Our society has been stolen from the hands of the people who made it—stolen from us. If working people had democratic control over the vast wealth and resources of our country, we could run society and use the factories, land, infrastructure, and technology for the benefit of everyone. We in YDSA fight for that society, a democratic socialist society. 

American capitalism is marked by racism and xenophobia, with Black people, immigrants, and other communities deliberately over-policed, under-employed, and systematically abandoned. Cities remain segregated, leaving people of color with unequal access to healthcare, education, and housing. This oppression in our own country does not stop at its borders. The capitalists who oppress us at home use their wealth and power to wage endless wars around the world, slaughtering countless innocents to line their pockets. When students and young people have tried to protest these wars and their universities’ complicity in them, they are met with nothing but intense repression from their administrators and the state. As we face the existential threat of climate catastrophe, the ruling powers in our society offer us only violence and despair.

The two-party political system is rigged to keep the ruling capitalist class in charge. In order to change this, the working class needs a party of its own: an organization by and for working people, where politicians are held to real standards of conduct and aren’t allowed to break their promises, and where we make our decisions democratically. The Democratic Socialists of America is building that party today, and YDSA is building its youth wing. YDSA has taken important steps toward this goal by running and electing our own members to public office, supporting unions in strikes to win better pay and benefits, and fighting alongside oppressed and working people all around the country, from small towns to big cities. 

As working-class youth, we can become life-long leaders in the fight for emancipation by leading class-struggle campaigns on our campuses and entering strategic industries to remake the labor movement. Together, we can build the political alternative our class needs by changing the trajectory of our peers’ lives and creating a generation of young revolutionaries capable of transforming society. Winning reforms and building a mass worker’s party alone isn’t enough to accomplish this. The future of our country, humanity, and the planet will be decided by which class holds power: the capitalists or the workers. YDSA is dedicated to overthrowing the rule of the wealthy few and establishing a democracy for the working class. This is our vision:

Immediate Demands

1. Make Our Campuses Sanctuaries. Refuse to comply with legal attacks on international, undocumented, and LGBTQ+ students and workers.
2. Cops Off Our Campuses. No to political repression, racist policing, and violence against students.
3. Freedom to Organize. Protect the right of all campus workers to collectively bargain and unionize. 
4. Divest From the War Machine. Ban military recruiters on campus, abolish ROTC, cut all ties with military contractors, and provide a just transition for affected students and workers.
5. Invest in Our Campuses. Fully fund robust and engaging curricula, livable meal plans and housing arrangements, and environmentally sustainable campus infrastructure. 
6. Open Our Schools to Everyone. Expand support and accessibility for college education to ensure everyone has an opportunity to go to college regardless of race, income, or disability.
7. Student-Worker Power. Establish democratic, open, and transparent governance bodies with real decision-making power for students, faculty, and staff.
8. Unconditional repatriation of indigenous remains and artifacts: Full return of inventoried indigenous remains and artifacts from our universities to their original communities, regardless of federal status.
9. Integration of indigenous pedagogies within our universities: Incorporate indigenous learning practices and content into education in coordination with indigenous groups to promote cultural learning. Provide opportunities for indigenous students to learn and use their traditional languages in educational settings.

Long-Term Demands 

We believe there are real victories to be won here and now on our campuses, but our most hard-fought victories are in danger for as long as the power structure of capitalism remains intact. These are the systemic transformations we need to win lasting freedom for all:

1. Universal Right to Education: Free education for all from preschool to PhD. Wipe out all student debt. Take all private schools into public ownership.
2. Democratic Control of Our Schools: Elected student-worker assemblies to replace boards of trustees, presidents, and unaccountable administrators. Budgets will be made transparent and under the control of all who live, study, and work at our campuses.
3. A Government of the Working Class: Abolish the Senate, the Supreme Court, and all other institutions of minority rule. Create a democratic republic with a unicameral people’s assembly elected by universal, equal, and direct suffrage, alongside democratic management of workplaces.
4. Seize the Commanding Heights of the Economy: Nationalize major industries and medical, energy, and transport infrastructure. Bring the economy under the control of a common plan decided by the working class.
5. International Peace and Solidarity: End imperialist wars, close overseas military bases, abolish the standing military and police. Dismantle weapons of war and invest in peaceful, non-exploitative global development.
6. A Global Educational Campaign: Global funding for the establishment of peoples’ schools according to the needs of each community, freedom of movement for students and teachers, and unrestricted public access to all scholarship. 
7. International Climate Plan: Fighting the climate crisis requires international planning within ecological limits. Universities will aid in this fight by collaborating in an international research effort to devise a plan to transform the global distribution of resources, supply chains, manufacturing, agriculture and food systems, urban planning, and humanity’s energy production and use. 
8. Unconditional repatriation of ancestral lands to indigenous peoples and honoring of historic treaties: Return full control over indigenous territories to their respective nations so that they may be governed sovereignly. Honor historic treaties and make efforts to form new ones wherein indigenous groups are not placed under duress to ensure a just transition.

Conclusion  

Climate catastrophe, the rise of the far right, and the threat of world war seem to mark the end of the world as we know it. But in the end of this world, we see the possibility of another. We are not condemned to die in the same world we were born into. Through collective struggle in our schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities, we have the power to change history. A better, freer, and more humanizing world is possible. We can choose to fight for and win a world where no worker is exploited by a boss, no child is abused by a parent, no person is beaten by police, no community is annihilated by bombs: where every human being can have a dignified life and democratic society. This is the project that we have committed ourselves to, the one that we will do everything in our power to realize, the one that requires millions of us to come together toward the creation of a new world—a new humanity.

Article I. Name

Sec. 1- The name of the organization shall be the Young Democratic Socialists of America, here forth referred to as YDSA.

Article II. Relationship to Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)

Sec. 1 – YDSA is the Youth Section of the Democratic Socialists of America and, as such, is bound to the principles and governance of DSA as prescribed in the DSA constitution and bylaws.

Sec. 2 – YDSA shall establish its own governance and structure within DSA, and shall develop its own program relevant to students, campus communities, and youth.

Sec. 3 – YDSA shall implement the priorities and political program of DSA, as resolved by the national organization in a way relevant to YDSA, and when appropriate adopt and implement independent YDSA political priorities and strategies.

Article III. Aims & Objectives

Sec. 1 –  YDSA is the Youth Section of DSA that shall serve to further the following aims:

Sec. 1a – To build the power of students, campus communities, and youth to fight for equality, justice, and democratic socialism.

Sec. 1b – To develop, determine, and promote the policies and positions of YDSA and DSA.

Sec. 1c – To provide support and assistance to chapters of YDSA, to assist and support the organization of new chapters, and to facilitate cooperation between chapters across the United States.

Sec. 1d –  To promote DSA among students, campus communities, and youth.

Sec. 1e – To educate and train YDSA members to prepare them for a lifetime of organizing in the service of a democratic socialist future.

Article IV. Membership

Sec. 1 – Membership in YDSA shall be open to any DSA members who are full or part-time students, campus workers (including, but not limited to, adjunct faculty, teaching assistants, and non-traditional students), or youth, who accept the aims, constitution, resolutions, and the decisions of the organization and accept the aims of the platform of the organization. Members over 30 years of age may not hold elective office in the organization.

Sec. 2 – Membership shall be determined on the basis of chapter application. All DSA members on the membership list of a chartered YDSA chapter, or who hold national office, shall be YDSA members.

Sec. 3a – Members may be expelled from YDSA membership if they are found to be in substantial disagreement with the principles or policies of the organization, or if they consistently engage in undemocratic, disruptive behavior or if they are members of any external organization that publicly endeavors to undermine the efforts of DSA or YDSA made according to the decisions of its internal democracy, or if they are found to be employed or contracted as a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer. 

Sec. 3b – Members shall retain the right of freedom of association amongst themselves and the right to organize internal caucuses, factions, or groups that express support for or opposition to existing or new organizational policies in a comradely fashion and without inhibiting the work or democratic functioning of DSA or YDSA.

Sec. 4 – YDSA shall have a Membership Policy which outlines the process in which a member may be expelled from the organization. Members facing expulsion must receive written notice of charges against them and must be given the opportunity to be heard before an unbiased, impartial body designated by the NCC for the purpose of considering all expulsions.

Sec. 5 – Any member expelled from YDSA may appeal their expulsion from YDSA to the NCC or Annual Convention on the following, limited bases:

Sec. 5a – A procedural error, misconduct, or conflicts of interest affecting the procedural fairness.

Sec. 5b – The recommended remedy or penalty was grossly disproportionate to the reported violation.

Article V. Organization

Sec. 1 – The basic unit of organization for YDSA is the chapter. Chapters shall be formed on the basis of educational institution(s). Such definition shall denote the primary but not exclusive jurisdiction of the chapter. A chapter may at any time redefine its jurisdiction by notifying the NCC or Annual Convention. In case of overlapping jurisdiction, the NCC shall mediate the dispute.

Sec. 1a – New chapters shall be approved by a simple majority vote of the NCC or Annual Convention. Upon approval, the chapter shall receive an official charter from the national organization. Chartered chapters are entitled to support from the National Office. Each charter shall expire no less than a year and two months from issuance.

Sec. 1b – No less than three (3) DSA members may apply by petition for a new chapter’s charter. A full membership list, chapter constitution, and list of elected officers shall accompany the petition. The NCC may require additional information or a questionnaire where necessary to validate the authenticity of a petition or a potential new chapter’s agreement with the aims and objectives of YDSA.

Sec. 1c – To renew an established chapter’s charter, the established chapter shall submit an updated membership list with at least (3) DSA members, an updated chapter constitution, and an updated list of elected officers to the national office before the charter’s expiration. Upon the reception of the required materials, the national office shall issue a renewed charter for the chapter, given that the chapter remains in agreement with the aims and objectives of YDSA and the materials are all in order according to a set of public guidelines written and disseminated by the NCC. The renewed charter shall expire  no less than a year and two months from issuance. Any established chapter whose charter has expired shall apply by petition for a charter as if they were a new chapter.

Sec. 1d – Chapters are expected to develop their own program relevant to their specific locality and needs. This program should fall within the aims and objectives set out by YDSA and the YDSA Annual Convention.

Sec. 1e – Chapter charters granted by YDSA may be revoked by a two-thirds vote of the NCC or the Annual Convention.

Article VI. Annual Convention

Sec. 1 – YDSA shall meet in Convention annually.

Sec. 2 – The Annual Convention shall be the highest decision-making body of YDSA unless otherwise specified in this Constitution. It shall prescribe policy, elect and delegate powers to national officers of the organizations and serve as a forum for internal education.

Sec. 3 – The number of delegates for each YDSA chapter for the Annual Convention shall be apportioned at least sixty (60) days before the Annual Convention. The apportionment shall be based on a ratio of chapter membership to delegates determined by the NCC. The delegates of each chapter shall be elected by the chapter’s membership through Meek Single Transferable Vote. Delegates of chapters shall have speaking and voting rights at the Annual Convention. These rights shall be subject to review at the Annual Convention meeting.

Sec. 4 – An announcement of the beginning of the pre-convention period shall be distributed to all YDSA members by the NCC at least ninety (90) days before the opening of the first session. This announcement shall included guidelines for submissions and candidates for national office. This announcement shall also include the number of delegates for each YDSA chapter.

Sec. 5 – The outgoing NCC shall select members of a Convention Planning Team. The Annual Convention shall also adopt a set of rules for plenary discussion and decision-making. The Annual Convention shall appoint the National Director (or their proxy) and the National YDSA Organizer (or their proxy) as a Presidium to govern and administrate the Convention while it is in session.

Sec. 6 – Every year, YDSA may hold an annual National Winter Conference or an annual set of Regional Winter Conferences for the purposes of outreach, education, and fellowship. These conferences shall not be decision making bodies, but may serve as a format for discussion. The NCC, in consultation with the NPC, may convene Conference Planning Teams with representatives from both bodies to coordinate decisions regarding the theme, program, and logistics of the conferences

Article VII. National Coordinating Committee

Sec. 1 – The National Coordinating Committee (NCC) shall be made up of the national officers. It shall be the highest decision-making political body of the organization between Annual Conventions. Quorum for the Committee shall be 50% plus one of the national officers. The National YDSA Organizer serves as a non-voting ex officio member of the NCC.

Sec. 2 – The national officers shall consist of two Co-Chairs and seven at-large members. The two Co-Chairs, and the at-large members, shall be elected by Meek Single Transferable Vote.

Sec. 2a – Candidates for national office shall have been members of the organization for at least one month prior to the date of the election.

Sec. 2b – At least five (5) members of the NCC must be self-identified non-cis men (including one of the co-chairs), and at least four (4) members of the NCC must also be people of color.

Sec. 3 – The duties of the officers of the NCC shall be as follows:

Sec. 3a – The Co-Chairs shall be the chief spokespeople of YDSA. They shall also be responsible for coordinating the administration and policy of YDSA. They shall report to the Annual Convention and to any national or regional winter conference the status of YDSA. The Co-Chairs shall represent the YDSA NCC on the National Political Committee of the DSA.

Sec. 3b – At-large members may take on responsibilities according to their specific skills, in consultation with the rest of the NCC and the National YDSA Organizer. Attention should be paid to identifying YDSA ongoing needs as well as specific needs in the coming year when dividing up responsibilities. All NCC members will serve on a national committee either as a committee member and liaison or as a committee leader if called for by that committee’s charter. Four of the responsibilities that shall be divided up among the at-large members are the following:

Sec. 3b(i) – If YDSA possesses a discretionary budget, a treasurer shall oversee the finances of YDSA and shall submit a monthly financial status update to both the NPC, NCC and the National Office of DSA. The NCC representatives to the NPC will request that the YDSA treasurer attends DSA Budget and Finance Committee meetings as an ex officio member.

Sec. 3b(ii) – The NCC shall rotate notetakers and timekeepers monthly.

Sec. 3b(iii) – A membership secretary shall be responsible for assisting staff in overseeing the chapter chartering process, petitions to start new chapters, and membership records.

Sec. 3b(iv) – A communications secretary shall coordinate and maintain all of YDSA’s social media accounts and maintain a YDSA social media policy with the support of any relevant national committees. The NCC representatives to the NPC will request that the communications secretary attends DSA communications meetings when relevant.

Sec. 4 – The agendas for the NCC conference calls shall be proposed by the YDSA Co-Chairs, with the call itself being chaired by one of the YDSA Co-Chairs. The agenda shall include, but not be limited to: discussion of activities, finances, and the general direction of YDSA. The NCC conference calls shall be held regularly and be open to YDSA members for observation.

Sec. 5 – The National YDSA Organizer shall be the chief administrative official of the organization and shall be appointed by a joint YDSA/National DSA personnel Committee. They shall be directly supervised by the national officers in implementing program and policy made by the Annual Convention and take particular responsibility for chapter building and recruitment.

Sec. 5a – The National YDSA Organizer shall produce and distribute to the NCC, YDSA membership, and the National Political Committee of DSA each quarter a written report on their progress, challenges and assessments. Should sensitive materials which might harm YDSA or DSA be included in the report, the National YDSA Organizer may decide to produce and distribute a redacted version available for the membership instead.

Sec. 6 – Upon the national office’s reception of a petition of a majority of the membership or of chapters representing two-thirds of the membership, any member of the NCC shall be recalled.

Sec. 6a – If a position on the NCC is vacated for any reason a majority of the remaining officers may solicit nominations and elect a replacement from the whole YDSA membership. The rules of nomination shall follow those of the most recently convened convention.

Sec. 7  – The NCC will divide all active YDSA chapters between themselves and — through regular meetings with chapter leaders — will present a political vision and provide support for chapter development. 

Sec. 7a – During these meetings, NCC members will discuss and advocate for strategies related to campaigns, coalition building, chapter structure, leadership development, political education, dues drive, and so on. They will also inform the representative leaders of upcoming national events and priorities. 

Sec. 7b – NCC members should also conduct chapter visits throughout the year to facilitate trainings, discussions, political education presentations, and give dues pitches to members.

Sec. 8 – Polls of the membership on specific issues may be held upon petition of one-half of chapters or one-third of the membership. Such polls shall be advisory and not binding.

Article VIII. Standing Committees, Committees & Working Groups

Sec. 1 – The Annual Convention or NCC shall form committees as deemed necessary to supervise specific longstanding work outlined in an annual charter adopted by Convention, or under a temporary charter until the next Annual Convention if formed by the NCC; these shall report to the Annual Convention and the NCC. The National YDSA Organizer shall serve as an ex officio member of each committee.

Sec. 1a – The NCC may at any time vote to dissolve any temporarily chartered committee by a majority vote, or may suspend a Committee with an annual charter should it find it to have violated that charter or the rules, bylaws, or Constitution of the organization. Committees shall have at least 3 members, appointed by the NCC open to application by the membership, including at least one Committee Chair, tasked with coordinating the work of the Committee and a Committee Secretary, tasked with maintaining the records of the Committee and providing them to the NCC and, if requested, the DSA NPC. The NCC may dismiss a Committee Chair, the Committee Secretary, or any other officer or member of the Committee by simple majority vote.

Sec. 2 – The NCC shall appoint an Executive Editor to manage the work of the Activist blog. The Executive Editor may establish an editorial board to assist in the direction of the Activist and assign responsibilities as they see fit. The NCC may remove either the Executive Editor or any member of the editorial board by a simple majority vote.

Sec. 3 – Temporary Working Groups may be established by the Annual Convention or by the NCC and must be accompanied by a charter that determines its mission, membership, structure, and designate an expiry date of no longer than one year or until the next convention. If the charter expires and the working group is not rechartered within one month, it shall be dissolved and its records shall be transferred to the NCC.

Sec. 3a – The NCC will establish a governance structure and accountability provisions for Working Groups.

Sec. 3b – Working Groups may be dissolved by a majority vote of the Annual Convention or two-thirds vote of the NCC, except that the NCC may revoke the charter of a Working Group by a majority vote if that charter was granted by the NCC.

Sec. 4 – There shall be three permanent Standing Committees overseen by the NCC: the Youth Growth and Development Committee (YGDC), the Communications Committee (Comms), and the Youth Labor Committee (YLC). As Standing Committees, these bodies do not need to submit annual charters to be approved at the Annual Convention in order to continue their work beyond the Annual Convention.

Sec. 4a – The structure and current charter of each Standing Committee shall be determined by the most recent committee charter passed by the Annual Convention, including in cases where the Annual Convention does not pass a resolution that amends the charter of a Standing Committee or makes determinations on the structure or name of the committee.

Sec. 4b – The leadership of each Standing Committee shall not be relieved of their tenure at the Annual Convention, and shall instead remain in office until their replacement is formally appointed by the NCC.

Sec. 4c – Annually, in lieu of charter renewals, Standing Committees may submit a resolution detailing a work plan and priorities for the upcoming year to the Annual Convention. If no such resolution is submitted, then the incoming NCC shall be tasked with working with the respective Standing Committee to build a work plan for the duration of their term.

Sec. 4d – A Standing Committee may be chartered through a constitutional amendment to Article VIII, Sec. 4, adding to the list of Standing Committees, but must be accompanied by the passage of a normal resolution detailing the initial charter of the Standing Committee. If a charter is passed, but the constitutional amendment is not, then the committee shall function as an annually chartered committee subject to Article VIII, Sec. 1. 

Sec. 4e – A Standing Committee may have its status revoked through a constitutional amendment to Article VIII, Sec. 4, removing its name from the list of Standing Committees.

ARTICLE IX. National Priorities

Sec. 1 – National Priorities are large-scale structural and/or campaign-based initiatives that require major sustained effort and resources which all chapters are able to participate in and shall be carried out between their adoption and the next Annual Convention. All formations within the organization should attempt to participate in the national priorities where possible. The NCC will give these initiatives priority including but not limited to time during national events, space in internal and external communications, money from the budget, and the mobilization of new and existing chapters.

Sec. 2 – Up to two (2) National Priorities may be established via the passage of a Priority Resolution at the Annual Convention.

Sec. 2a – Each eligible Priority Resolution will first go before the convention individually, requiring a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote to pass.

Sec. 2b – If more than two (2) Priority Resolutions reach the two-thirds (2/3) threshold, there will a selection process consisting of a ranked-choice election to select up to two (2) National Priorities, with votes tallied by the Scottish Single Transferable Vote (STV) method. If two (2) or fewer Priority Resolutions reach the two-thirds (2/3) threshold, all of those advanced will automatically be adopted.

Sec. 2c – Priority Resolutions which reach the two-thirds (2/3) threshold but are not selected as priorities shall be treated the same as other non-priority initiatives or projects passed by convention. Such non-priority initiatives or projects are not precluded from obtaining resources such as time, internal and external communications, space on the website, money from the budget, or mobilization of new and existing chapters but will not be given priority.

Sec. 2d – If less than two (2) National Priorities are established by the Annual Convention the NCC may establish additional National Priorities via a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote, to be carried out between their establishment and the next Annual Convention. The NCC may also choose to, due to unforeseen political conditions, replace or amend a National Priority established by the Annual Convention via a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote.

Sec. 3 – Priority Resolutions must contain a description of the goals of the priority, a description of the strategy and tactics planned for achieving those goals, a clear explanation in how all chapters would be able to participate in the priority in a coordinated manner, a timeline for implementation and execution with milestones for at least every semester until the next Annual Convention, an existing or new committee or working groups which shall be in charge of carrying out the priority, and methods by which the success of the priority will be determined.

Sec. 3a – The Convention Planning Team shall be responsible for determining if a submitted priority proposal meets the requirements as described previously.

Article X. Authority

Sec. 1 – YDSA is not responsible for any document, policy, publication, or any other expression of political opinion except such as are issued by the authority of the Annual Convention and the regularly constituted leadership of the organization.

Article XI. Amendments

Sec. 1 – The Constitution may be amended at an Annual Convention by a three-fifths vote of the Convention, provided that written notice of such amendments has been given to members one (1) month prior to the Convention.

Last Amended: July 19th, 2024 by the YDSA Annual Convention Online